The Teams: Tarleton Texans (0-0, 0-0 WAC) vs. Miami (0-0, 0-0 ACC); Florida International (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Where: Miami, FL
Stadium: Ocean Bank Convocation Center
Time: 9:30 a.m. CT; 3:00 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: C-USA TV (FIU match only)
 
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
Tarleton Volleyball get the athletic season under way for the purple and white with two matches in Miami, Florida Friday. The Texans will open the season against ACC member Miami (FL) and C-USA member Florida International.
 
The first match of the day against the Hurricanes will begin at 10:30 a.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. CT and will be available to follow by live stats only – no live video feed will be available. Tarleton's final match of the day will against the host Panthers at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT and will be streamed to C-USA TV online.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This weekend marks the first meeting between Tarleton and Miami (FL) and Florida International.
• This is Tarleton's first Division I match against any team from the state of Florida.
• This is Tarleton's second season as a member of NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton will return to a sense of normalcy this fall after the 2020 season was delayed to the spring semester last season.
• Including the 24 matches from the spring semester, Tarleton is on pace to have played 53 total matches in the 2021 calendar year.
• Tarleton welcomes a new face to the sideline with the addition of assistant coach Tatiana Booth. Booth is a familiar face around Wisdom Gym after a playing career with former D2 foe East Central (OK) and head coaching tenure with Tarleton's former LSC rival Cameron.
• Tarleton is 12-4 in season openers under head coach Mary Schindler, including last year's NCAA Division I debut against Louisiana Tech. The Texans have won eight straight season openers since 2013.
• Tarleton returns 15 of the 17 letterwinners from last year's team and added five newcomers – Haley Flanagan, Trinity Vinzant, Haylee Maxey, Elise Smith and Megan Haynes.
• Lauren Kersey led the team with 17 double-digit kill performances last year with a season-high 18 kills on a .516 hit percentage against Texas Tech on March 11. Amber Strange was close behind with 16 double-digit kill performances with a season-high 22 kills against TCU on March 30.
• Tarleton went 5-3 in non-conference play during the condensed spring season with two wins against Big XII member TCU.

 
WAC UPDATES

• WAC-ESPN+ ENTERS THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP: Continuing a relationship that spans more than 31 years, the Western Athletic Conference and ESPN have announced a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement that will see over 500 annual events on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.
• FOUR NEW MEMBERS, ONE ON THE WAY: Just a year after welcoming two schools to the league in Dixie State and Tarleton, the WAC has opened its arms once again by bringing in the 'Texas 4'group of Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, and Lamar. Tarleton will also bring in Southern Utah next year to grow by seven members over a three-year span.
• LEAGUE DIVISIONS: With the addition of the four Texas schools, the WAC has gone into two divisions for the first time since 2004. The Texans are a part of the Southwest Division that includes all six of the league's Texas schools – Tarleton, ACU, SFA, Sam Houston, Lamar, and UTRGV.
• OWNING THE LONE STAR STATE: With the addition of the four Texas schools, the WAC now boasts the largest presence of any conference in the nation at the NCAA Division I level in the state of Texas.

 
1,000-KILL CLUB
Amber Strange joined the Tarleton all-time 1,000-kill club last season. She is set to begin her "super senior" season with 1,083 total kills. She is one of 10 Texans in the history of the program to reach 1,000 career kills and will move her way up the ladder throughout the season. The complete top-10 list is as follows:
 

#	Player	Years	Kills
1.	Hailey Roberts	2014-17	2389
2.	Desiree Reed	2002-05	1545
3.	Sharon Lister	1996-99	1422
4.	Lacey Adkisson	2000-03	1355
5.	Missy Castro	2004-08	1276
6.	Belinda Hardee	1990-93	1261
7.	Kathy Buckler	1983-86	1194
8.	Stacie Murrah	2010-13	1117
9.	Marissa Galich	1995-98	1095
10.	Amber Strange	2017-20	1083

 
2,000-ASSIST CLUB
Kayla Brannon enters her senior season among the top-5 all-time in the Tarleton assist leaders. Last season, she reached the 2,000-assist mark on a kill from Lauren Kersey for the 30th point (16-14) of set three against Dixie State on March 9. Brannon is the sixth player in the Tarleton top-10 list in assists to have played under head coach Mary Schindler, who is also No. 9 on the list. The complete top-10 list is as follows:
 

#	School	League	Wins
1.	Danielle Barker	2010-13	3324
2.	Jessie Hartman	2008-11	3266
3.	Jordyn Keamo	2016-17	2404
4.	Christina Ortiz	2005-06	2313
5.	Kayla Brannon	2018-20	2188
6.	Didi Ebert	1997-98	2131
7.	Chandler Gow	2014-17	2020

 
NOTABLES

• SUPER SENIOR SEASON: The spring semester did not count as a season of eligibility for student-athletes around the country. Amber Strange and Natalya Chatham have been given the opportunity to return for an additional season of competition.
• WHAT THEY'RE SAYING – PROGRAM ON THE RISE: On July 6 in the El Paso Herald-Post, UTEP head coach Ben Wallis said the following about the Tarleton Volleyball program: "Tarleton State is a program on the rise who had significant wins last season and has had a long run of successful seasons under its head coach Mary Schindler."
• THE MOST IN THE WAC: Tarleton led the conference in three statistical categories last spring. The Texans finished the season as the WAC leader in total kills (1,099), total assists (1,033) and total digs (1,512).
• ALL-WAC KERSEY: Since joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2020, Lauren Kersey has been a mainstay on the All-WAC teams. The senior from Norman, Oklahoma was an All-WAC First Team selection following the spring season and is a Preseason All-WAC selection this fall.
• HALI'A SHINES IN FIRST FULL-SEASON: Hali'a Swartman-Hogan came to Tarleton as a graduate transfer from the University of Oklahoma ahead of last season and did not disappoint in her first full season of competition. After overcoming adversity with an injury at OU, Hogan was a reserve for the Sooners before graduating with her undergrad degree. She came to Tarleton and played in 57 sets for the Texans last spring and was among the top four on the team in points (141.5) and kills (120). She enjoyed a career performance against former Big XII rival, TCU, with 19 kills on a .341 hit percentage on Feb. 25 in Stephenville.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will make its home debut with a newly-added match to the schedule next Wednesday, September 1 at 6 p.m. in Wisdom Gym against Eastern Washington. Following the Wednesday night battle, the Texans will head to Stockton, California for a tournament at the University of Pacific.